Temperature control system



I A. B. NEWTON 2,334,216

TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM Nov. 16, 1943.

Filed April 4, 193a '7 Zhwentor Allw in B.Newto1m- Gttomeg Patented Nov. 16, 1943 TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM Alwin B. Newton, Minneapolis. Minn, assiznor to illinneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware v Application April 4, 1938, Serial No. 199,743 I (Cl. 23668) i I 4 Claims. Thepresent invention relates'to a temperature control system of the type shown .in the patent to D. G. Taylor, 2,073,326, of March9, 1937.

In the above mentioned Taylor patent, there is disclosed a temperature control 'systemzwherein the control of the flow of a heat transferring fluid such as steam is effected in a'modulatin manner by means including an outdoor controller having a local heating device and -a thermostatically actuated control impedance responsive to the temperature of the controller. The heating effects of the local heating means and of the heat device utilizing the steam bear the same relation to each other as the heat losses from the controller and from the building. As the temperature of the controller changes due to a change in outside atmospheric conditions, the position of a flow valve regulating the steam flow is changed and simultaneously the amount of heat supplied to the local heater islalso changed. In the specific arrangement of Taylor, a balanced impedance network is employed to control the motor of the flow valve. This network includes a follow-up impedance which has as its function to terminate the movement of the motor when the valve reaches a position corresponding to the position of the control impedance in'the outside controller. This motor not only controls the valve but also controls the resistance adjusting the current flow to the local heater.

While the arrangement of Taylor represented a decided advance over earlier temperature control systems, the system has one defect in that the position of the valve and the possible amount of heat supplied to the local heater is fixed for any temperature of the controller. Such an arrangement is satisfactory so long as the steam pressure is constant.

This very seldom occursQ however, either in the case where the steam is A further object of the present invention is to provide such a-system'inwhich a flow responsive means is employed for operating the follow-up impedance.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a system in which a flow responsive means not only controls the rebalancing impedance but also controls the heating effect'of the local heat-' ing device.

Other objects of the present invention will be apparent from a consideration'of the accompanying specification, claims and drawing.

In the single figure of the drawing, the invention is shown in schematic form applied to a l6 leading from any suitable source of steam (not tionship between the building heating means and the controller heating means.

An object of the present invention is to'provide a temperature control system of a type just discussed in which means responsive to the rate of heat flow is employed to determine the position of 'the valve in conjunction'with the thermostatic control mean in the outside controller.

shown), through pipes I1, I 8, and iii.

The flow of steam -between pipes lfi and I1 is controlled by means of a motorized valve 25. This valve comprises a valve proper 26 which is provided with a valve stem 21 connected by means of a link 28 to a crank disc 29. The crank disc 29 is mounted upon a shaft 30 driven by a motor 3i. The motor 31 may be of any suitable reversing type, one preferred form being that shown in the co-pending application of Willis H. Gille, Serial No. 131,381, filed March 1'7, 1937, Patent No. 2,145,791, of January .31, 1939. The motor is shown as comprising a squirrel cage rotor 32 and a pair of field windings 33 and 34. A condenser 35 is associated with the two field windings and is selectively connected in series with one or the other to cause the current through one of the windings to lead that through the other. The rotor 32 is connected througlra gear train 39 to the shaft 30. To the right-hand end of shaft 30 there is secured a crank arm 40 of insulating material which is adapted to engage either of two limit switches 4| and 42, The limit .switches are provided with longprojecting blades which are engaged by the crank arm 49 when the crank arm moves to either of two extreme positions. The engagement of crank arm 40 with the long arm of either of the limit switches results in the switch being opened, terminating the energization of the motor.

A relay generally indicated by the reference which is selectively engageable with contacts i and 52. Upon relay coil 68 being the more highly energized of the two, switch blade ll is moved into engagement with contact iii, and upon relay coil 38 being the more highly energized, switch blade ll is moved into engagement with contact 52.

An outside controller generally designated by the reference numeral 50 controls the relative energization of relay coils 38 and 69. This outside controller is subiect to the same atmospheric conditions as the building including temperature, wind, and solar radiation. The controller 58 is shown as comprising a metallic block 63 mounted on a suitable base 66. The block 63 is hollowed out and has secured therein a fulcrum 63. Pivotally mounted on this fulcrum 53 is a lever 56 which is moved in a counter-clockwise direction about the fulcrum 53 by means of an adjustable tension spring 55. The tension spring E35 may be suitably adjusted by manual manipulation of the adjusting screw 56. A bellows 5?, which may contain a volatile fluid, is located in the block 83 and carries a plunger 58 which engages the lever 55 to move the lever in a clockwise direction about the fulcrum 53 upon an increase in temperature affecting the bellows 57. A slider 59 is suitably secured to and insulated from the lever 54 so that upon an increase in block temperature affecting the bellows 51, the slider 59 is moved to the right with respect to a potentiometer coil 60 also mounted in the block 63. Upon a decrease in block temperature, the slider 59 is moved towards the left with respect to the potentiometer coil 60. The block 63 is cooled by outside atmospheric conditions, the rate of cooling depending upon outside temperature, wind, and solar radiation and is heated by means of a heating means which may take the form of an electrical heater 6 I A cover 82 engages the hollowed out portion of the block 63 so that the thermostatic bellows 51 will not be directly affected by outside atmospheric conditions but will respond directly to the temperature of the block 63, All of the above related parts comprising the outdoor controller may be enclosed within a suitable casing 85 to prevent destruction of the same by the elements.

The two relay coils 48 and 49- are connected by means of conductors 61 and 88 to the opposite terminals of a secondary I0 of a step-down transformer I2. The step-down transformer I2 comprises in addition to the low voltage secondary I0 a. line voltage primary II which is connected by conductors I4, I5, I8, and TI to line wires I8 and I9 leading to any suitable source of power (not shown). By reason of the connections between the opposite ends of relay coils 48 and .49 to the secondary I0, these relay coils are connected directly across the secondary constituting the low voltage source of power for the system. As previously indicated, the relative energization of these coils is controlled by the controller 50. The specific means in the controller for effecting the relative energization of the relay coils is the varassaars iable impedance constituted by the resistance 60 and the slider 58. The right-hand end of resistance so is connected by means of conductor 82 and protective resistance 88 to the left-hand end of relay coil it. The left-hand end of resistance W is, in turn, connected by means of conductor 86 and protective resistance 05 to .the left-hand end of relay coil 59. The slider 59 is connected through conductors 8i and 88 to the junction of relay coils 4153 and 69. It will be noted that the control potentiometer consisting of resistanc 60 and arm 58, by reason of the connections to relay coils ii and ii), acts as a voltage divider therefor. Thus upon the arm 59 being moved to the right as occurs with a temperature rise, the voltage across the relay coil 68 is decreased and that across relay coil 39 is increased with a resultant decrease and increase in the energizations of the respective coils.

Also controlling the energization of the relay coils 68 and 39 is a rebalancing or follow-up potentiometer 90. This rebalancing potentiometer cc comprises a contact arm 9i slidably engageable with a resistance 92. The resistance 02 is quadratic in form so that the resistance per unit of length decreases proceeding from right to left. The purpose of this form of the resistance will be discussed in a subsequent paragraph. The righthand end of resistance 92 is connected through conductor 95 and protective resistance to the right-hand end of potentiometer 59. Similarly, the left-hand end of resistance 92 is connected through conductor 96 and the protective resistance 83 to the left-hand end of relay coil 48. The contact arm M is, in turn, connected through conductors 91 and 89 to the junction of relay coils 58 and 49. It will be readily seen that the follow-.

up potentiometer also acts as a voltage divider for relay coils 48 and 49. Furthermore, it will be readily seen that the effect of the movement to the right of the arm 9| of the follow-up potentiometer has an eflect upon the relative energization of relay coils 48 and 49 which is opposite to that produced by a corresponding movement of arm 59. Thus upon the energization of relay coils 48 and 49 being unbalanced by reason of a movement of the controller contact arm 59 in either direction, the balance can be restored by a corresponding movement of arm 9| in the same direction.

A flow responsive device generally indicated by the reference numeral W0 is employed to position the arm M of follow-up potentiometer 90. This flow responsive means comprises an enclosed chamber IOI in which is interposed a diaphragm I02 which divides the chamber IOI into two parts. Connected to the chamber on opposite sides of the diaphragm are two pipes I04 and I05. The two steam supply pipes I1 and I8 have interposed between them an orifice plate I06 whereby the flow between the two pipes is restricted. Thetwo pipes I04 and I05 are connected to pipes II and I8 on opposite sides of the orifice plate I06 and serve to transmit the pressures on opposite sides of the orifice plate to opposite sides of the diaphragm I02. The position assumed by diaphragm I02 is accordingly a function of the pressure drop through the orifice plate I05. If desired, suitable means can be provided for compensating in changes in the latent heat of the steam and in the change of the orifice effects with change in pressure of the steam. The diaphragm I02 has secured thereto a rod I08.' The rod extends through the chamber IOI on opposite sides thereto and at the point i where it extends therethroug'h is connected to sealing diaphragms I09 and III which permit longitudinal movement of the rod Ill but prevent escape of fluid therefrom. A tension spring H3 is secured at one end to the casing IOI and at its other end to a lug II4 on the rod I09. This spring serves to bias the rod anddiaphragm to the right. The rod I09 is connected at its,

potentiometer 90 through a pivotal pin and slot connection H2. The pin and slot connection is for the purpose of initially adjusting the posi-. tion of arm 9|, for a. given positionof the diaphragm I02. In view of thefact'that the now varies as the square 'root of the pressure drop, it is necessary that the resistance 92 be quadratically formed in order to provide a uniform change in resistance for a uniform change in the flow through orifice I06. By" reason of theform of resistance 92, the amount of change. in resist-. ance for a given movement of arm 9| constantly decreases as the arm 9| moves from the right to the left, as it does with a constantly increasing pressure drop. Accordingly, the effect is that the relation between the rate of change of flow'and the rate of change of resistance becomes a linear one. It is, of course, understood that while the resistance has been shown as formed 'qua'drat-,

ically, the linear relation between the flow and the resistance may be accomplished by imparting a quadratic movement to contact arm 9I, as by means of a suitably formed cam.

- right-hand end to the arm -9I of the 1011092411) relation may be obtained by means of suitable movement of the contact arm I22. Thus, in the present case, the movement would be as a function of the fourth power of the diaphragm movement.

Operation The various elements of the'system are shown in the position which'they occupy when a substantially average rate of steam is flowing through the pipesand when the temperature of the controller is at substantially the value. for which it is set. Let it be assumed. now that the temperature of the block 63 is decreased by reason of a drop, in outside temperature. The effect of this decrease in temperature will be to cause the contact arm 59 to move tothe left. As previously indicated, the effect of contact arm 09 moving to the left is that the energlzation of relay coil '49 is increased and that of relay coil 49 decreased,

thus causing'armature 40 to move to the lefttan'd move switch blade 4! tact 5|.

into'engagement with con- The moving of relay switch blade 41 into engagement with contact SI results in the following energizing circuit being established to field I winding 33: from line wire I8- through conductors I5 and I30, switch blade 41, contact BI, conductor I3I, limit switch 42, conductors I33 and I34, field winding 33 and conductors I36 and 11 to the other line wire I9. At the same time, a circuit is established to the other field winding 34 as follows:

A step-down transformer II5 is employed for energizing the electrical heater 8|. This stepdown transformer comprises a low voltage secondary I I6 and a primary I I1 which is-connected by means of conductors II8 and II9 to the line wires I8 and I9. Theleft-hand end of secondary H6 is connected directly through conductor I20 to the left-hand end of electrical heater 6|. The right-hand end of the secondary I I6 is connected through a conductor I2I to the contact arm I 22 of a variable resistor I23. The resistor I23 comprises in addition to the contact arm I22 a re-. sistance member I24 which is connected by, a

conductor I25 to the right-hand end of the heater 6|. The resistance member I24 varies from right to left as a function of the fourth power of the length. The arm I22 of variable resistance I23 is connected through'a pivotal pin and slot connection I 21 to rod I08. The resistance value of rheostat I23 is accordingly varied in accordance with the position of the diaphragm I02. For the same reason as it was necessary to have the resistance 92 varied as the square root of the unit length, it is necessary to have resistance I24 vary as the square root of the unit length. Furthermore, in the case of resist-- ance I24, it is necessary to consider the fact that for a given current the heating effect of the resistor BI is proportional to the square of the current. Accordingly, in order to obtain a constant change in the heating efiect'of resistor GI,

flow through orifice plate I06 and the heating efiect of the resistance IiI is maintained constant. As in the case of the potentiometer 90, the linear from line wire 19 through. conductors I5 and I30,

switch blade 41, contact 5|, conductor I3I, limit switch 42, conductors I33 and I38, condenser 35,

conductor I39, relay coil 34, and conductors I36.

and 11 to the other line wire I9.

It will be noted that in the energizing circuit just traced in the above paragraph, this relay coil 34 included the condenser 35 in series theree with. Thus the field winding 33 is energized directly by current in phase'with the source of power whereas the field winding 34 is energized I by current which leads that of the source of power by reason of the phase displacing effect of the condenser 35. By reason ofhthe phase displacement between currents to the two motor windings 33 and 34, the motor will rotate in one direction,

this direction being such that the shaft 30 is rotated in a clockwise direction to cause a clock- I wise rotation of the crank disc 29 andof arm 40. The clockwise rotation of the crank disc 29 causes the valve 26 to be moved towards open position. The clockwise movement of the crank 40 if cone tinued sufllciently far will open the switch 42 which, it will be noted, was inthe energizing.cir-

cuits of both motor windings.

The effect ofmoving 'valve 26 towards'open position is to increase the steam flow through the radiators I3 and incidentally to increase the steam flow through orifice plate I09 with the resultant increase in drop of pressure thereacross. This, in turn,"causes diaphragm I02 to be deflected still further to the left iagainstthe action of spring 3.. The efiect of this deflection of diaphragm I02'tolthe left isto move contact ill to the left and'also to move contact arm I22 to the left. Then'iovement' of contact arm 9| to the left causes the resistance, 'on theleft-hand side of contact arm 92-to-decrease and that on the right-hand side to increase. This tends to cause.

an increase in the energization of relay coil 49 and a decrease in the energization of relay coil 48 to counteract the effect of the movement to the left of contact arm 59 on resistance 60. After the flow has been decreased to a point corresponding to the position of contact arm 59, the

-movement of contact arm @i will be sumcient will be noted that the position at which the valve movement is terminated is determined not by the position of the valve itself but by the flow which results from the valve being in that position. In other words, instead of there being a given valve position for a given position of contact arm 59, there is a given flow of heat conducting medium.

If as a result of the increased flow of heat conducting medium and the accompanying increased heating effect of heater hi, the temperature in the outside controller begins to rise the contact arm 59 will move to the right. This will result in the energization of relay coil '59 being increased and that of relay coil it decreased, causing armature dd to move to the left to move switch blade ll into engagement with contact 52. This will cause the following circuit to be established to the motor field winding 34: from line wire it through conductors l5 and I30, switch blade 43?, contact 52, conductor M5, limit switch dI, field winding 33, and conductors I36 and ll to the other line wire it. At the same time, an energizing circuit is established to field winding 33 as follows: from line wire 18 through conductors l5 and I38, switch blade dl, contact 52, conductor its, limit switch M, conductor I39, condenser 35, conductors I38 and I35, field winding 33 and conductors I36 and ll to the other line wire 19. It will be noted that as the result of the establishment of the circuits above traced, the current through field winding 33 now leads that through field winding 34 so that the motor will rotate in the opposite direction to that in the case previously discussed. Under these conditions, the shaft 3|] will rotate in a counterclockwise direction to move valve 26 towards closed position. At the same time, the crank arm 40 is moved in a counter-clockwise direction. If such movement of crank arm 40 continues sufliciently long the limit switch M will be opened interrupting both of the motor energizing circuits just traced.

The movement of valve 28 towards closed position decreases the flow of steam through the pipes and consequently through the orifice I06. The result of this is that the pressure differential on opposite sides of diaphragm I02 is decreased so that diaphragm I02 and rod I08 are moved towards the right by the action of spring H3. The movement of rod I08 towards the right causes both contact arms SI and I22 to similarly move to the right upon their respective resistances.

The movement of contact arm 9| to the right has such an effect upon the relative energization of relay coils 48 and 49 as to tend to counteract the movement of arm 49 to the right upon reaaeaare contact arm I 22 to the right increases th resistance in series with the resistance heater 6 I decreasing the heating eflect of the same.

It will be noted from the above description that upon any change in temperature of the controller, the heating efiects of the heating means for the building and of the electrical heater are correspondingly changed. The amount of change necessary, moreover, is determined not by the position of the valve which is not a definite indication of the actual heating effect but rather by the rate of flow of the heating medium. Thus for any temperature of the controller there is a definite rate of flow of the heating medium. Thus regardless of changes in the supply pressure of the steam or regardless of changes and conditions in the return lines from the radiators, the amount of heat supplied to the radiators will always be determined solely by the temperature of the controller.

While I have shown a specific embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is for purposes of illustration only and that the invention is limited only by the scope of the app nded claims.

I claim as my invention: I

1. In a system for controlling the supply of a fluid heating medium through a conduit to a building heating system, a valve for controlling the flow of said fluid heating medium through said conduit, electrically operated means for controlling the position of said valve, an outdoor controller located outside the building and subjected to substantially the same atmospheric conditions as the building, said outdoor controller having heating means therefor and a thermostatically controlled variable resistance responsive to the temperature of the controller, afollow-up variable resistance, a control circuit for said valve controlling means including said'thermostatically controlled variable resistance and said follow-up resistance, means responsive to the pressure differential across a portion of said system for adjusting the relative amounts of said follow-up resistance in said control circuit by amounts substantially proportional to the square of the variations in said pressure differential so that said valve controlling means is caused to adjust said valve in accordance with the actual rate of flow of fluid, proportioning means mechanically connected to and directly operated by said pressure difierential responsive means for controlling the supply of heat'to said outdoor controller, said proportioning means and said pressure differential responsive means causing the ratio between the heating fluid delivery to the building and the heat delivery to the outdoor controller to be substantially equal to the ratio between heat loss to the building and heat loss to the outdoor controller when the building and outdoor controller are substantially equal in temperature.

2. In a system. for controlling the supplyof a fluid heating medium through a conduit to a building heating system, a valve for controlling the flow of said fluid heating medium through said conduit, electrically operated means. for controlling the position of said valve, an outdoor controller located outside the building and subjected to substantially the same atmospheric conditions as the building, said outdoor controller having electrical heating means therefor and a thermostatically controlled variable resistance responsive to the temperature of the controller, a follow-up variable resistance, a control circuit for said valve controlling means including said thermostatically controlled variable resistance and said follow-up resistance, means responsive to the pressure diiferential acrossa portion of said system for adjusting the relative amounts of said follow-up resistance in said control circuit by amounts substantially proportional to the sq of the variations in said pressure differential so that said valve controlling means is caused to adjust said valve in accordance with the actual rate of flow of fluid, a variable resistance mechanically operated by said pressure difierential responsive means for controlling the supply of current to said electrical heating means in said outdoor controller, said pressure difierential responsive means acting to vary saidlast-named resistance in accordance with the fourth power of the variations of said pressure differential to cause the delivery of heat to the building and to the controller to vary substantially in direct proportion.

3. In a system for controlling the supply of a fluid heating medium through a conduit to a building heating system, a valve for controlling the flow of said fluid heating medium through said conduit, an outdoor controller located outside the building and subjected to substantially the same atmospheric conditions as the building, said outdoor controller having electrical heating means therefor and temperature responsive means responsive to the temperature thereof, means responsive to the difierential pressure across a portion of said system, an electrical control system for said valve controlled by said difierential pressure responsive means and said temperature responsive means to variably position said valve in a manner to maintain different flows of fluid through said conduit in accordance with variations in the temperature of said controller, and variable resistance means for determining the current flow to said electrical heating means directly operated by said differential pressure responsive means, in a manner to vary the current flow to said electrical heating means in accordance with the fourth power of the variations in said pressure differential.

4. In a system for controlling the supply of fluid heating medium through a conduit to a building heating system, a valve for controlling the flow of said fluid heating medium through said conduit, an outdoor controller located outside the building and subjected to substantially the same atmospheric conditions as the building, said outdoor controller having electrical heating means therefor and temperature responsive means responsive to the temperature thereof, means responsive to the difierential pressure across a portion of said system, an electrical control system for said valve including said differential pressure responsive means and said temperature responsive means to variably position said valve in a manner to maintain difierent flows of fluid through said conduit in accordance with variations in the temperature of said controller, variable resistance means for determining the current flow to said electrical heating means, and means by which the value of said resistance means is directly varied by said differential responsive means in a manner to vary the current flow to said electrical heating mean in accordance with the fourth power of the variations in said pressure difierential.

ALWIN B. NEWTON. 

